Is it possible to access directories such as $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps remotely or through a web browser?

Hi, I'm currently looking into developing a custom visualization and am trying to follow the steps provided in the Build a custom visualization tutorial: http://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/6.4.0/AdvancedDev/CustomVizTutorial One of the first steps is to edit the settings in web.conf, but I access Splunk exclusively through my web browser. Is there any way to edit the settings that I need to change remotely? It seems I will also need to access (and add files to) certain directories such as $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/apps. Again, I'm wondering if there is an easy method for doing this remotely or through the web browser. Apologies in advance for what might be a very uninformed question. Thanks!